Feeler for a group buy on Carbon Fiber Driveshafts

[roadtrip1098]

Update: It took a little longer to order than I had initially wanted, but I am happy to report that I am ordering today. I am also happy to report that there are vendors listing the PST shaft for as low as $1015 with free shipping. I am emailing RSD to see if they'll match, because personally I'd rather do business with them. I will post as much info as I can and I will try to get a before and after video of acceleration with datalogs so everyone can take the information and make their own judgment.

Update - RSD will not budge on price of $1071.43. The site that says $1015 is http://www.importimageracing.com They also offer free shipping with the coupon code FREESHIP. This sucks because I'd much rather buy from RSD as I have in the past, but $60 is a tank of gas. You all can make your own decision on where you source your parts from.

 

[roadtrip1098]

The drive shaft just came in. It is beautiful. Too bad no-one will see it once it's installed. Everything looks to be of high quality, it definitely feels heavier than I expected, but I put it on the scale and it is 14.6 LBS on the nose. Here's a few pics, I'll post before and after acceleration vids doing a roll on in 2nd or 3rd once I get around to doing the install. 

 

 

 

 

[roadtrip1098]

Good news, they just started a sale today. 8% off, then another 10% with a coupon code, plus free shipping $887.15 to your door - not too shabby. As for their customer service, I'm getting a gift card for the difference - can't really ask for anything better than that. Very glad I went with RSD.

 

[roadtrip1098]

Just finished the install, took about an hour, and I'm fat and slow. After reading other reviews I was expecting the increase in acceleration and smoother shifts, which the shaft does deliver on, but what really surprised me was how quiet the car is now... I never even really noticed how loud my STi was before, but I sure as heck notice that it's a lot quieter. Absolutely no vibrations right up through 100, lets say kph just in case there's any law dogs out there. Rowing through the gears is much faster without trying to be fast, 1st gear is not jerky at all anymore, and engine breaking is silky smooth. It may just be me, but it feels like the car stops quicker and is more tail happy. There's not one specific ultra improvement, but instead several very noticeable improvements. All in all, yes, it was worth it. Yes I would buy it again. Had I known all the little annoyances that we end up getting used to could nearly all be solved for a $1000 part I would have made this a priority a long time ago.

One drawback is that with it building boost a little quicker, some boost spikes have presented themselves in my map (5th and 6th gear pulls). Nothing I can't tune out with some less aggressive WGDC's. 

I'll get some video tomorrow to show the before and after pulls. I haven't reviewed anything yet, but I'm expecting that it will be gains you can see. 

 

[Industry]

in for videos.

 

[blehhh]

Posted this to your NASIOC thread, before I realized you were from Maine & on M.S.

I have a DSS CF DS and it certainly made commuting a lot better. No more bucking, shacking, lashing nonsense. Still some internal gear slack & sprung-clutch bounciness, but you'll never get away from that. I got to the point though where I couldn't stand driving the car with the stock two-piece DS, so this mod was essential for me. Hopefully I can get a large chunk of the price back when I sell it.
 

So I would absolutely agree that it was worth the money, especially since they hold their value fairly well. I remember a few people were actually bashing me for buying one, probably assuming I just thought it was cool 'cuz carbon-fiber yo' or that I was under some illusion that I 'need one for all my mad torques', and not even remotely understanding why I wanted one, what it's supposed to do, etc. 

I did find that any and all transmission / rear diff bushings caused harmonic problems in the driveshaft though, with each end of the driveshaft acting like a tuning fork, trying to broadcast different frequencies between the trans and the diff. The result was violent vibration at 20, 40, 60, 80mph, etc. 

 

[roadtrip1098]

Thankfully, I have no vibration or noise issues that I didn't have before. Granted, I'm on stock bushings everywhere except my end links and sway bars. There may be a very very slight hum around 55 MPH, but it's so quiet that I really can't tell if it's the DS or some other part. Either way it's a massive improvement in both performance and NVH. I will absolutely buy one for any STi that I own in the future.